Proposals for mall exterior OK'd

Escondido's Westfield North County undergoing $55 million renovation

ESCONDIDO  The Escondido City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved several modifications to the master development plan for Westfield North County mall as part of the exterior revitalization plans for the 26-year-old shopping center.

The modifications will allow the addition of about 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, reduce the parking space ratio, increase the temporary uses permitted in parking lots and refresh all eight mall entrances. Three vacant buildings on the east side of the 83-acre mall will be demolished.

In January, the City Council approved a lease extension with Westfield that includes a $55.8 million investment in mall improvements. A three-story Target store scheduled to open in October in a long-vacant anchor building that once housed Robinsons-May.

Among the elements approved Wednesday night was a new, much larger freeway pylon sign. Recent Interstate 15 improvements, including a nearby car-pool lane bridge, have overshadowed the mall’s existing 49-feet-high freeway sign. The proposed new sign would be 93 feet high to increase visibility.